Literary Celebrations and Holidays
There are many literary celebrations and important dates that take place throughout the year. Acknowledging these dates can be a great way for teachers and librarians to boost excitement for reading among students, and also a way for authors to connect with their readers.
While there are many detailed calendars out there that include everything from Clean Out Your Bookcase Day to Bad Poetry Day, I wanted to create a calendar of events that a significant number of those in the children’s book community and/or in schools typically mark in some way. (For a very extensive list, check here: booksbeansandbotany.com/book-holidays/.)
I plan to update this list each year, close to the beginning of the year, but please feel free to copy these dates into your own calendar. Some of them remain the same each year while some are variable.
2026 Dates
Read Your World Day – 1/29/26
multiculturalchildrensbookday.com
Children’s Authors and Illustrators week – Starts 2/1/26
readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/celebrate-children-authors-illustrators
World Read Aloud Day – 2/4/26
litworld.org/world-read-aloud-day
See also author Kate Messner’s blog. In late fall, Kate creates a list of authors available for WRAD that teachers can use when reaching out to organize visits. katemessner.com/blog/. For 2025, the form for traditionally-published authors to join the list is here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdTaSbmP6-i17qABFYIlleoC6pH49gLarAC6q2SCDJJ0HKPhQ/viewform
International Book Giving Day – 2/14/26
nationaltoday.com/international-book-giving-day/
Read Across America Day and Week – 3/2/26-3/6/26
nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/read-across-america
World Poetry Day – 3/21/26
National Poetry Month – April
poets.org/national-poetry-month
International Children’s Book Day – 4/2/26
ibby.org/awards-activities/activities/international-childrens-book-day
School Library Month – April
National School Librarian Day – 4/4/26
Poem in Your Pocket Day – TBD in April
https://poets.org/national-poetry-month/poem-your-pocket-day
D.E.A.R. Day (Drop Everything And Read)/Beverly Cleary’s Birthday – 4/12/25
We Need Diverse Books Day – 4/14/26
https://www.instagram.com/p/DHleRpIp_Oa/
Right To Read Day – 4/20/26
uniteagainstbookbans.org/right-to-read-day/
National Library Week – 4/19/26-4/25/26
ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek
Independent Bookstore Day – 4/25/26
bookweb.org/independent-bookstore-day
Children’s Day, Book Day/El día de los niños, el día de los libros – 4/30/26
patmora.com/whats-childrens-day-book-day/
Free Comic Book Day – 5/2/26
Children’s Book Week – 5/4/26-5/10/26
Teacher Appreciation Week – 5/4/26-5/8/26
Teacher Appreciation Day – 5/5/26
International Literacy Day – 9/8/26
National Family Literacy Day – 11/1/26
readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/celebrate-national-family-literacy
Picture Book Month – November
school.teachingbooks.net/cp.cgi?id=244
Children’s Book Week – 11/2/26-11/7/26
